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All in weight is around 5.6kg. Ordered in October last year. Delivered in April (which I understand was pretty swift compared to most people's experience!). I apologise in advance for the small pictures, so don't beat me up about it. I'm sure there must be a better way of getting a 160kb picture to look a decent size on WW, but I don't know how. I know some people just put a link to a Flickr page, but I can't access Flickr from my work PC.

Cheers,

Last edited by da123 on Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

I've weighed the fork because I took it off to cut the steerer down a bit. Pre-cutting it was 325 grams, a bit heavier than I was expecting. I've not weighed the frame, but based on the kit it has on it and the final overall weight, I'd be surprised if it was more than 800g.

It is a small, which I think is a 53. I am just over 5'9. I did consider medium, but I'm glad I didn't go for that, as it would have been too big for me.

da123 wrote:I've weighed the fork because I took it off to cut the steerer down a bit. Pre-cutting it was 325 grams, a bit heavier than I was expecting. I've not weighed the frame, but based on the kit it has on it and the final overall weight, I'd be surprised if it was more than 800g.

It is a small, which I think is a 53. I am just over 5'9. I did consider medium, but I'm glad I didn't go for that, as it would have been too big for me.

Valy wrote:What are the ride impressions? How does it compare to other bikes you've had?

This is only my third road bike, so I can compare it to a Boardman Pro Carbon and a Storck Fascenario 0.7

Ride : The Canyon rides more smoothly than either the Storck or the Boardman (much more so than the latter). Although I changed the stock Canyon post for the Engage, I couldn't tell any difference, they both do a good job of ironing out poor road surface at the rear. The front isn't quite as smooth as the rear, but it certainly isn't harsh. It is on a par with the Storck I'd say. The Enve wheels contribute to the ride as well, as they are noticeably smoother than the stock Mavic R-Sys or my Zipp 303s.

Handling : I was initially a bit underwhelmed by the handling, which I first tried out on some really big descents in Southern Spain. It felt quite twitchy and I struggled to get my lines right. It gave me a lot less confidence than the Storck, which I instantly felt at one with. Having put a significant amount of miles in since, I have adapted and think that the 'twitchiness' is largely down to the 100mm stem on the Canyon (the Storck is a 110). This is something I've just got used to, and I'm now really enjoying the way it handles. It is super stable (you don't have any fear taking your hands off the bars, even at high speed), and really sticks to the road. I'd still say the Storck is marginally better (it manages to be both more exciting, and more confidence inspiring), but there's not much in it, and the Canyon is much better than the Boardman.

Power Transfer : The Canyon is a stiff bike, particularly at the front end. BB power transfer is very good, although perhaps a touch less immediate than the Storck. Up front, it is stiffer than the Storck. Acceleration is immediate, and sprinting is very good, even with the Enve wheels. The front end is stiffened further by the Zipp SL2 bars, which are quite a bit stiffer than the stock Ritchey Evo Curve. The Boardman is noticeably more flexy than either German bike.

Climbing : Any 5.6kg bike should climb like a goat, and the Canyon certainly does. The Enve wheels are a big help here. I have some Zipp 303 rims on Tune hubs (1120g the pair), and the Enve's are noticeably better once the road goes over 6%. The stiff front end makes a difference as well, as out of the saddle hauling on the bars produces no movement at all. The Storck is a slightly lighter bike, but I don't think I could tell them apart from a climbing perspective.

Finish : The finish on the Canyon is ok. I'm not a massive fan of the raw carbon look (although I know it saves weight), and you can certainly see quite a few blemishes / joins in the finish without looking too hard. The Storck is much more appealingly finished IMO, and has more 'Wow' factor. My custom painted Boardman has a better looking finish (probably only IMO) than either German bike, but the custom paint job did add 120g to the frame and fork weight!

Kit : The new SRAM Red stuff is very good, but I have only ridden SRAM on road bikes so I have no comparison. The chainset is better (better looking and stiffer) than 2011 Red. I've changed the stock rings for Praxis, which gives a very slight drop in stiffness, but no noticeable drop in shift quality.

Wheels : My Enve 25s on Tune hubs (built by Strada Wheels) are fantastic. Brilliant climbers, lovely ride, great rolling, great braking (no pulsing at all), lovely finish and they are still true after 3000 miles of riding on UK roads. My Zipp 303s are marginally faster (unless the ride is really hilly), but I'd happily trade that for the other benefits.

Overall : The Canyon is a great bike. It is difficult to see what would come close to it at this price point. To put it in perspective, it is probably around £1,000 more than the Boardman, but is in a completely different league (and I really like my Boardman). The Storck is marginally better (it just has more 'Wow' factor) but there is very little in it, and the Canyon is at least £5,000 less expensive. The other think with the Canyon compared to the Storck is that I just don't worry about it like I did the Storck. The Storck had so much 'boutique' stuff on it, that any creak or cracking noise had me fretting. It is probably just perception, but the Canyon just feels more 'robust', despite only being around 200g heavier.

Nice ride! Can I ask how you got the oval saddle rails to work on the Engage Revit post?

Cheers

Hi. I didn't have any issues, I've run the post with 4 different saddles, all with oval rails (a Phoenix, a Romin, a Toupe and the Carbonio Flow) and they all seemed to work fine. Am I missing something here - are they not supposed to be compatible?

ross wrote:Yeah I have the same post on my new Scott , the rails on my SLR Kit Carbinio wouldn't fit the lower cradle or upper yolks without modification

This pic shows a Thomson Masterpiece lower cradle, but shows the problem with the upper yolks. With the Engage cradle it wouldn't fit straight at all

In the end I bought an SLR TT with round rails. I emailed Engage about getting replacement upper yolks but they never replied.

Hmm, you have me worried now! It all looks ok to me, there are no gaps and it appears straight. It certainly fits in the lower yolk without issue. I've attached a (sorry, bit rubbish) photo - please shout up if it looks like there's a problem!

Can't see much else I will change now. The Lightweights (purchased with insurance money following nasty commuting accident) are every bit as impressive as the reviews. Light, stiff, comfortable and er, a bit aerodynamic (can't have everything I guess!). Super smooth with the Ceramicspeed bearing option (a horrendously priced upgrade, but as it was insurance money, it didn't feel quite like it was mine!)

The Superlogic stem is maybe a tiny bit oversized for what is a relatively delicate looking frame, however it is functionally the best stem I've tried. The cockpit with the Schmolke bars just doesn't move, even when down in the drops, but remains decently comfortable. Strangely enough the stem looks more at home when my Garmin 1000 is mounted, as that unit tends to dwarf slimmer stems.

The Schmolke bar is a lovely thing, and Schmolke are super helpful. With the good £ to euro exchange rate, it wasn't even that expensive (compared to other flagship bars). 144g, and it is much stiffer in the drops than the Zipp bars I ran previously (which are marketed as 'sprinter' bars). The greater diameter (it only tapers to 27mm from the clamping zone, rather than 24mm) feels really good to hold. The photo (hmm, sorry about this, David Bailey I'm not) doesn't really do them justice as it does make them look a lot bulkier than they actually are. The other weight weenie benefit is that they need special shifter clamps because of the increased diameter - these are supplied and they are quite a bit lighter than the standard clamps you get with your groupset.

The veloflex tyres are nice and supple. Not noticeably better than the Vittoria Corsa SCs I had on previously (albeit a bit lighter), but the colour on the sidewall is nicer (the SCs are a bit 'yellow', rather than 'tan').

The skewers are a bit heavier than the Obeymayer skewers that come with the wheels, but having had wheel slip issues with Lightweight skewers in the past, I feel happy to give up a few grams for the greater clamping force.

I do have a Schmolke TLO setback post on order which will save 35g on the Engage Revit post, but this may fit geometry wise better with my Schmolke Namur as it only provides 10mm of setback.

Last edited by da123 on Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.